Wednesday Week 2 of Lent

Command that these two sons of mine sit one at your right and the other at your left when you finally take possession of your Kingdom. Now before we go hurling stones at this mother who just wanted what was best for her sons, let us pause and reflect about this: Isn't what she was asking a reflection of the very thing that is in our own hearts? Isn't sitting at the right hand of Jesus all that we are after? Who would not jostle for the seats closest to Jesus?
The request of the mother of the Zebedee brothers immediately follows the third prediction of the passion and comes when Jesus and his company were nearing Jerusalem. The two disciples must have shared with their mother about the two previous predictions, how Jesus was probably entering Jerusalem for the last time, and that he was going to be killed. They must have accepted the fact that Jesus was not going to lead a military coup against the Romans. And so as an act of favor to this family who had given Jesus two sons to accompany him, they just wanted a little reward. What mother wouldn't want the best for her children?
Did the two sons and their mother understand what Jesus' mission was all about? Did they have a slightest understanding of what discipleship was all about? They probably did. They probably understood it better than we credit them for. "
We can drink of your chalice," the sons told Jesus when asked about their readiness to follow Jesus into his passion. And indeed they did drink of Jesus' chalice.
The two sons and their mother were thinking in human terms, as we all do. They were ready to give it all, but only on the condition that it would not be in vain. They were ready to die with Jesus, but they had to be assured that they will be rewarded in the next life. Their
humanness prevented them from hearing the words of Jesus regarding their identity: "
we are useless servants; we have done no more than our duty" (cf. Luke 17:10). They were yet to understand the concept of being called to service.
What is in it for me? We always pose such a question whenever we are approached with a request. We always want to know if we will get rewarded in any way for our efforts. The two sons and their mother were thinking along these lines. However, Jesus reminds them (and us) that ours is mere service, that discipleship is not about preferential treatment. A servant must honor the terms of the contract signed and should not expect the master to act otherwise. There are no strings attached when it comes to following Jesus. A follower of Jesus has literally given his/her life to Jesus and does not expect it back. The two sons and their mother wanted their lives back. They were yet to understand
fully what discipleship entails.